Welll... GOOD news !! I am coming home December 2nd !!! I know you all miss me so much (hahahaaaa) so no more worries.. I will be on my way in just 12 ( sorry 4- it was 12 originally when I wrote this, and never got around to publishing it) short days :)
The whole job market in Praha is about as good as our job market was a year ago- - a year behind EVERYTHING here... fashion, jobs, fads, trends... etc. Ok maybe ten years behind on teh fashion judging by the neon colored clothes, scrunchies, camo and extreme layering of clothes....
I partly "blame" The Langauge House where I did my TEFL... Their website *which thanks to our class is being re-vamped* said they have "job assistance for life" and "guaranteed job placement" both of which have changed in the past year- but were never updated on their website as the website coordinator is based in the US...so needless to say there was some mis direction and mis communications taking place - actually I have been hired by the Language House to collaboratively work on the website... so I will keep you updated on that....However, the content was great- and I learned a lot about teaching styles and methadologies that PSU never blinked an eye at...and a lot about me as a teacher.
As dissapointing as it seems now, I am really glad that I had the past 3 months to live in and explore a place I probably never would have expolored on a "Euro Trip" or a summer vacation. Living in a city for 3 months is soooo different than actually visiting a place for a few days and seeing all of the tourist sights. You get a feel for the poeple, the culure, the food. the traditions etc. and I am so grateful that I got to catch a small glimpse into the Czerch culture and language (yes I picked up some Czech while I was here..too bad nobody speaks Czech anywhere but The Czech Republic ..oh well )
I also have met some really amazing people while I was in Prague... these friendships I am sure will last a lifetime- and I already have plans set to meet back up with some of them at the end of December.... I am absolutely grateful for having such great people in Prague the past 3 months... they really have helped make this journey even more incredible.
My friends Nicole and Drake left today, and after a tearful "see you soon!" It just reconfirms that everything happens for a reason, and to live with no regrets- This has been an indescribable experience in life,teaching, relationships, culture, learning and living and I am so grateful that I have had this oppurtunity - Till next time ... so long Praha- Hello America!
Saturday, November 28, 2009
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
The One In Terezin
*** The following entry contains graphic depictations and accounts of Terezin- a fortress originally used to protect this area from the Prussians, and later inhabitated by the Germans and used a a Nazi Concentration Camp***
4-11-2009
While trying to make the most of our time here in Prague we have been researching places of interest around The Czech Republic and came across Terezin.
A little background of terezin:
Terezin is comprised of 2 "fortresses" The Small Fortress and the Big Fortress. Most of the history, centers around the Small Fortress- part of Terezin's fortification system built between 1780-1790 and served as a prison and penitentiary for army and political prisoners already at the time of Habsburg monarchy. The most tragic chapter in it's history came during the occupation of the Czech lands by Nazi Germany in 1939, The Gestapo Police Prison was established in Terezin as a key link in the repressive system of the Nazi occupation. Terezin served as the most populated and popular transport location for Prisoners and Jews, before they were sent further East and perished.
So today we ventured to Terezin about 80 Km north of Prague, almost on the German border. My friends Sarah, Shannon, Andy and my flatate Kelly took the bus there and arrived around 11AM. We got off the bus and started walking toward the Small Fortress, as you approach the Small Fortress there is The National Graveyard with 601 graves, a grave for everybody that they recovered from a mass grave and had a burial service for after Terezin was liberated.
We signed up for an English tour, and waited in a small exhibit for our tourguide, Rosa. Rosa led us to the Small Fortress and we went to the left and entered the registration area where prisoners were registered, handed over all of their possessions-including their clothes, received a blanket, bowl and spoon and were sent to a yard where they were assigned a block/room. The First yard consists of BLOCK A and BLOCK B. They were made up of 17 mass cells, holding 100+ people each and solitary cells, where the prisoners were supposed to be by themselves but when they got overcrowded they often shared it with up to 60 other people. However some people who were in there by themselves often went mad and became blind due to lack of light and outside contact. Others who were crammed into cells with ventialtion holes no larger than a soda can often suffocatated to death and could have been left in those cells, deceased, for days.
In BLOCK A and BLOCK B, there was also a "sick room." This room was used to treat prisoners who were critically ill. Often other prisoners who were doctors were sentenced to work there and try to help other dying prisoners. They performed appendectimies, amputations, and minor surgeries with minimal tools and anthestics. The room consisted of about 7 beds, and some floor space. In 1944 a Hospital Ward was established in the Womens Ward as the outbreak of Typhoid Fever. Otherwise healthy women were often exposed and suffered from the Typhoid outbreak as a result of this relcation of the Hospital Ward.
We also saw the "Baber Shop." This was created to show the Delegation commitee (from Denamrk and Switzerland) how "good" the hygiene conditions were in Terezin- however this room - lined in sinks, and mirrors and had 2 good condition toilets- was never used my prisoners, and was never intended for thier use. It was another Propoganda move by the Germans to get the Jews to the Jewish ghetto in the Larger Fortress, or basically a fake room incase the Delegation - The Red Cross came to investigate, that is what they would show them. *more about the Propoganda later....*
From these yards we continued onto the Connection Corridor. Before we entered the Corridors we passed the Mortruary, where some prisoners were stoned to death. These lead through all 20,000 +meters that surround the fortress, today they have 500 meters for guests to walk through. These corridors are about 6 feet tall and very narrow. They were used to defend the fortress from the Prussians- in the walls are slanted rifle holes which soldiers could shoot through and long hallways used for storing ammunition.
On the other side of the connecting corridor is the Execution grounds. These were originally used as target practice for soldiers, then later as an execution site for prisoners. On the far side there is also a small Gallows, where prisoners who had attempted to escape or fought back were publically hung as an example to others. We also passed through the"Death Gate" numbered #22...where prisoners were led to the execution grounds.
In the center of the Small Fortress is a Canteen, a Cinema, a Pool and the Wardens barracks. The families of the Commanders lived here on base. Directly behind this is the Fourth Yard ( the second yard is used as a working grounds for prisoners, the third used as a womens yard) that the prionsers built in 1943 to accomodate more prisoners in the extremely overpopulated Terezin. In the fourth yard the cells held 400-600 prisoners each. By 1945 the yard housed over 3,000 prisoners. At the end of the fourth yard there is a raised wall. Here 3 prisoners tried to escape and two made it over the wall, while one was shot and couldnt escape. The one that was shot was publically executed along with 2 randomly selected men and one woman as an example. The 2 who had made it over the wall were found, brought back and publically stoned .
In 1947 the Czechoslovak Government decided to establish the Terezin Memorial, to commemorat those who fought, died, and survived for freedom, democracy, and human rights.
After we lef the small fortress we passed by The National Cemetary on our way to the Larger Fortress. Here it has the same corridors surrounding the fortress but resembles more of a town, beautiful parks, a river and many statues. However, all of this was part of the propoganda of Terezin to make it look like a "self-administered Jewish Settlement territory" It was meant to be a smoke-screen to the international public and cover up the genuine tragic fate of the Terezin Inmates and the true face of the "Final Solution to the Jewish Question."Those coming here thought they were going to a pleasant place , free of outside pressures and could live peacefully- they were even shown a movie to depict how nice life was in Terezin. Here is where we get back to the Propoganda part from earlier....
To make this movie they killed approximatelt 2,000 "sickly" looking innmates so they would not appear in the video. Then they staged a happy video, where peopel are eating a lot of bread (not the 5 kg of bread they were actually rationed, which quicly diminshed to 7 kg for 4 days..) Playing sports (not working to the brink of exhaustion and dehydration) and looking happy, kids cheering (not locked in school rooms for "re-education" purposes.) When these Jews arrived they had to turn over all of their possesion in exchange for food and shelter in Terezin for life.... not knowing how short most of their lives would be.
In the end some 140,000 men, women and children passed through the gates of Terezin, and in the last days of the war more than 15,00 more did as well. Less than 4,000 innmates survived the camp of the more than 87,000 who came to Terezin then were shipped out to Extermination camps (mostly to Auschwitz). sadly (and this part was really amazing, and so sad for me) the children were also victims in all of this. Many were exterminated before the age of 13. They left behind drawings they would make in teh barracks depicting life in Terezin, life before Terezin, their pets, families, fair tales they remembered, scenes from their hometown etc. They have a spacial museum dedicated to the children who perished in Terezin. While I was there I also bought post cards that have replica drawings done by the children of Terezin.
After the tour of the small fortress- We had lunch at a pizzeria to kind of collect our thougths, and reflect a little bit on what we had seen all morning, and continued on our journey through the larger fortress. We saw the Jewish Cemetaty and the Cerematorium. And also more corridors that had artifacts from Terezin such as carriages they used to pull bodies in, coffins- where they had to tie the bodys to the bottom of the coffin, because often times they had to reuse the tops to these, and also identification tags that they put on the dead bodies.
I guess the two things that shocked me the most -and these are in no particular order as I cant really grasp either concept, is that
A. Everything we saw today, the barracks, bunk, toilets, showers,coffins, carriages,doctors tools, uniforms, courtyards, gallows, etc. were real things, not "authentic-replicas" from history, but these items are only 60-70 some years old, - and the fact that you can actually touch the bed poeple died and walk by the wall peopel were exectuted in front of in is really disturbing.
B. The records they kept on prisoners- men, women and children, is amzing, They were all registered when they entered Terezin, and their record is also marked if/when they were sick, when they died- and how they died. "Heart troubles" were written as the cause for a lot of prisoners who were probably beaten or worked to death.They also recorded which prisoners were sent to which extermination camp. They recorded medicine administered, surgeries performed ect. And on some prisoners records it was recorded if they had "escaped" The idea that they would go through all of that to reserve- for lack of better words- a persons identity, who was virtually a number, a work slave and a body for target practice. They even wrote to the families and informed them if they had persihed while at Terezin, which I can't decide if it is better to know or not know in the case of these families. Now the records dropped off a little bit once the camp was overun by Nazi's and became overpopulated...but still. All of that to appease the outsiders and give the illusion of abiding by all the rules....
Anyway.... I am really glad I had the oppurtunity to explore Terezin, it was a fascinating town with an amazing history- sad and depressing as it may be. I have always wanted to learn more about hsitory- and still kick myself for not paying attention in Mrs. Dahme's 5th grade history class....History is amazing and hopefully we learn and grow from it, and pray that a tradegy like this never happens again.
You should be able to view my photos from Terezin by following this link:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2995655&id=9304278&l=2d6a6633b2
4-11-2009
While trying to make the most of our time here in Prague we have been researching places of interest around The Czech Republic and came across Terezin.
A little background of terezin:
Terezin is comprised of 2 "fortresses" The Small Fortress and the Big Fortress. Most of the history, centers around the Small Fortress- part of Terezin's fortification system built between 1780-1790 and served as a prison and penitentiary for army and political prisoners already at the time of Habsburg monarchy. The most tragic chapter in it's history came during the occupation of the Czech lands by Nazi Germany in 1939, The Gestapo Police Prison was established in Terezin as a key link in the repressive system of the Nazi occupation. Terezin served as the most populated and popular transport location for Prisoners and Jews, before they were sent further East and perished.
So today we ventured to Terezin about 80 Km north of Prague, almost on the German border. My friends Sarah, Shannon, Andy and my flatate Kelly took the bus there and arrived around 11AM. We got off the bus and started walking toward the Small Fortress, as you approach the Small Fortress there is The National Graveyard with 601 graves, a grave for everybody that they recovered from a mass grave and had a burial service for after Terezin was liberated.
We signed up for an English tour, and waited in a small exhibit for our tourguide, Rosa. Rosa led us to the Small Fortress and we went to the left and entered the registration area where prisoners were registered, handed over all of their possessions-including their clothes, received a blanket, bowl and spoon and were sent to a yard where they were assigned a block/room. The First yard consists of BLOCK A and BLOCK B. They were made up of 17 mass cells, holding 100+ people each and solitary cells, where the prisoners were supposed to be by themselves but when they got overcrowded they often shared it with up to 60 other people. However some people who were in there by themselves often went mad and became blind due to lack of light and outside contact. Others who were crammed into cells with ventialtion holes no larger than a soda can often suffocatated to death and could have been left in those cells, deceased, for days.
In BLOCK A and BLOCK B, there was also a "sick room." This room was used to treat prisoners who were critically ill. Often other prisoners who were doctors were sentenced to work there and try to help other dying prisoners. They performed appendectimies, amputations, and minor surgeries with minimal tools and anthestics. The room consisted of about 7 beds, and some floor space. In 1944 a Hospital Ward was established in the Womens Ward as the outbreak of Typhoid Fever. Otherwise healthy women were often exposed and suffered from the Typhoid outbreak as a result of this relcation of the Hospital Ward.
We also saw the "Baber Shop." This was created to show the Delegation commitee (from Denamrk and Switzerland) how "good" the hygiene conditions were in Terezin- however this room - lined in sinks, and mirrors and had 2 good condition toilets- was never used my prisoners, and was never intended for thier use. It was another Propoganda move by the Germans to get the Jews to the Jewish ghetto in the Larger Fortress, or basically a fake room incase the Delegation - The Red Cross came to investigate, that is what they would show them. *more about the Propoganda later....*
From these yards we continued onto the Connection Corridor. Before we entered the Corridors we passed the Mortruary, where some prisoners were stoned to death. These lead through all 20,000 +meters that surround the fortress, today they have 500 meters for guests to walk through. These corridors are about 6 feet tall and very narrow. They were used to defend the fortress from the Prussians- in the walls are slanted rifle holes which soldiers could shoot through and long hallways used for storing ammunition.
On the other side of the connecting corridor is the Execution grounds. These were originally used as target practice for soldiers, then later as an execution site for prisoners. On the far side there is also a small Gallows, where prisoners who had attempted to escape or fought back were publically hung as an example to others. We also passed through the"Death Gate" numbered #22...where prisoners were led to the execution grounds.
In the center of the Small Fortress is a Canteen, a Cinema, a Pool and the Wardens barracks. The families of the Commanders lived here on base. Directly behind this is the Fourth Yard ( the second yard is used as a working grounds for prisoners, the third used as a womens yard) that the prionsers built in 1943 to accomodate more prisoners in the extremely overpopulated Terezin. In the fourth yard the cells held 400-600 prisoners each. By 1945 the yard housed over 3,000 prisoners. At the end of the fourth yard there is a raised wall. Here 3 prisoners tried to escape and two made it over the wall, while one was shot and couldnt escape. The one that was shot was publically executed along with 2 randomly selected men and one woman as an example. The 2 who had made it over the wall were found, brought back and publically stoned .
In 1947 the Czechoslovak Government decided to establish the Terezin Memorial, to commemorat those who fought, died, and survived for freedom, democracy, and human rights.
After we lef the small fortress we passed by The National Cemetary on our way to the Larger Fortress. Here it has the same corridors surrounding the fortress but resembles more of a town, beautiful parks, a river and many statues. However, all of this was part of the propoganda of Terezin to make it look like a "self-administered Jewish Settlement territory" It was meant to be a smoke-screen to the international public and cover up the genuine tragic fate of the Terezin Inmates and the true face of the "Final Solution to the Jewish Question."Those coming here thought they were going to a pleasant place , free of outside pressures and could live peacefully- they were even shown a movie to depict how nice life was in Terezin. Here is where we get back to the Propoganda part from earlier....
To make this movie they killed approximatelt 2,000 "sickly" looking innmates so they would not appear in the video. Then they staged a happy video, where peopel are eating a lot of bread (not the 5 kg of bread they were actually rationed, which quicly diminshed to 7 kg for 4 days..) Playing sports (not working to the brink of exhaustion and dehydration) and looking happy, kids cheering (not locked in school rooms for "re-education" purposes.) When these Jews arrived they had to turn over all of their possesion in exchange for food and shelter in Terezin for life.... not knowing how short most of their lives would be.
In the end some 140,000 men, women and children passed through the gates of Terezin, and in the last days of the war more than 15,00 more did as well. Less than 4,000 innmates survived the camp of the more than 87,000 who came to Terezin then were shipped out to Extermination camps (mostly to Auschwitz). sadly (and this part was really amazing, and so sad for me) the children were also victims in all of this. Many were exterminated before the age of 13. They left behind drawings they would make in teh barracks depicting life in Terezin, life before Terezin, their pets, families, fair tales they remembered, scenes from their hometown etc. They have a spacial museum dedicated to the children who perished in Terezin. While I was there I also bought post cards that have replica drawings done by the children of Terezin.
After the tour of the small fortress- We had lunch at a pizzeria to kind of collect our thougths, and reflect a little bit on what we had seen all morning, and continued on our journey through the larger fortress. We saw the Jewish Cemetaty and the Cerematorium. And also more corridors that had artifacts from Terezin such as carriages they used to pull bodies in, coffins- where they had to tie the bodys to the bottom of the coffin, because often times they had to reuse the tops to these, and also identification tags that they put on the dead bodies.
I guess the two things that shocked me the most -and these are in no particular order as I cant really grasp either concept, is that
A. Everything we saw today, the barracks, bunk, toilets, showers,coffins, carriages,doctors tools, uniforms, courtyards, gallows, etc. were real things, not "authentic-replicas" from history, but these items are only 60-70 some years old, - and the fact that you can actually touch the bed poeple died and walk by the wall peopel were exectuted in front of in is really disturbing.
B. The records they kept on prisoners- men, women and children, is amzing, They were all registered when they entered Terezin, and their record is also marked if/when they were sick, when they died- and how they died. "Heart troubles" were written as the cause for a lot of prisoners who were probably beaten or worked to death.They also recorded which prisoners were sent to which extermination camp. They recorded medicine administered, surgeries performed ect. And on some prisoners records it was recorded if they had "escaped" The idea that they would go through all of that to reserve- for lack of better words- a persons identity, who was virtually a number, a work slave and a body for target practice. They even wrote to the families and informed them if they had persihed while at Terezin, which I can't decide if it is better to know or not know in the case of these families. Now the records dropped off a little bit once the camp was overun by Nazi's and became overpopulated...but still. All of that to appease the outsiders and give the illusion of abiding by all the rules....
Anyway.... I am really glad I had the oppurtunity to explore Terezin, it was a fascinating town with an amazing history- sad and depressing as it may be. I have always wanted to learn more about hsitory- and still kick myself for not paying attention in Mrs. Dahme's 5th grade history class....History is amazing and hopefully we learn and grow from it, and pray that a tradegy like this never happens again.
You should be able to view my photos from Terezin by following this link:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2995655&id=9304278&l=2d6a6633b2
The one on HALLOOOWWEENNNN
Happy Halloweeennnnyyy! Halloween is funny in a country where it seems like people are dressed in costumes everyday- and who don't understand Halloween- I dont really blame them. But honestly I have wished sooo many times that I had my camera to capture some of the fashion faux pas that happen in Prague- the outrageous scrunchies on hot pink dredlocks, the mis matched stripes and checkers, the ridiculously bright colored sandals with socks and the list goes on and onnnn..... so dressing up (well finding a costume) wasn't that hard! We hit up a second hand store in the top of a train station- they had the MOST RIDICULOUSS STUFFF there... we found bright colored snow suits, absurd looking blouses and suits, ties in a variety of colors, and size 185 clown pants (not kidding you could have put about 4 people in them)
I left with stuff to make a pirate costume for $6, including a bandana with skulls on it, a red and white striped dress, and a silk blouse. My friends also left with a high school sweater, a checkered skirt, and a black suit for MIB.
We decided to have a Halloween Costume Party at our flat, and had a variety of snacks and beverages including Witches Brew ( orange punch) Frankenstein's Brains (spinach dip in a bread bowl) and maggots and worms (sweet and sassy dip- yummm) We had people over form our TEFL class, then went to a costume party at a bar called "The Bunkr" It's a good thing that we went together to the party, because we got a few looks on the tram on our way to the costume party haha. Czech's know about Halloween, and even though most of them dress like it is Halloween everyday- the looks and snickers we received were priceless!
Once at the costume party they had a live band, and drink specials and I even ran into a guy I did Berlitz training with! Small city- well actually it is a large city- and I don't know anybody except my students, people I work with, and my fellow students from the TEFL class, but it seems as though I am always running into people I know...crazy!
We danced there until ....maybe 3 AM? and then ventured home in cabs- getting to the bars is easy on the trams, but after midnight the schedule changes and you have to catch "night trams" which can be very difficult, if you dont know where you are and where the nearest tram stop is, and not just only the tram stop, but a tram stop going in the direction you need it to go- which can be hard when you dont knwo where you are... so long story short we usually soend $5 total for a cab ride home.
The Sunday after Halloween, we sat around , ate left overs and drank the rest of the brew and played Euchre alll dayyyy.... perfect Sunday , and a great end to a successful Halloween in Praha :)
I left with stuff to make a pirate costume for $6, including a bandana with skulls on it, a red and white striped dress, and a silk blouse. My friends also left with a high school sweater, a checkered skirt, and a black suit for MIB.
We decided to have a Halloween Costume Party at our flat, and had a variety of snacks and beverages including Witches Brew ( orange punch) Frankenstein's Brains (spinach dip in a bread bowl) and maggots and worms (sweet and sassy dip- yummm) We had people over form our TEFL class, then went to a costume party at a bar called "The Bunkr" It's a good thing that we went together to the party, because we got a few looks on the tram on our way to the costume party haha. Czech's know about Halloween, and even though most of them dress like it is Halloween everyday- the looks and snickers we received were priceless!
Once at the costume party they had a live band, and drink specials and I even ran into a guy I did Berlitz training with! Small city- well actually it is a large city- and I don't know anybody except my students, people I work with, and my fellow students from the TEFL class, but it seems as though I am always running into people I know...crazy!
We danced there until ....maybe 3 AM? and then ventured home in cabs- getting to the bars is easy on the trams, but after midnight the schedule changes and you have to catch "night trams" which can be very difficult, if you dont know where you are and where the nearest tram stop is, and not just only the tram stop, but a tram stop going in the direction you need it to go- which can be hard when you dont knwo where you are... so long story short we usually soend $5 total for a cab ride home.
The Sunday after Halloween, we sat around , ate left overs and drank the rest of the brew and played Euchre alll dayyyy.... perfect Sunday , and a great end to a successful Halloween in Praha :)
Saturday, November 7, 2009
The One With the Bar Fight...
October 24, 2009
So as I am sure some of you have heard and others have not...yes I punched some asshole dude in a bar.
We were at a bar near The Language House which we have named "The Stump bar"...I don't think it really has a name, but it has a very distinguishing feature- a stump, right in the middle of the crowded bar area, People gather around (usually 4-8people ) and you play the game....the game involves getting a nail for each player and one hammer for the game from the bartender...- are you intrigued yet>??? thought so! A note about the hammer- it is a regular hammer on one end and the end that usually has two thingys (very technical term) to pull nails out with has been fused together so it looks like a hatchet- even more deadly as a weapon, espeically when you are drunk...so whoever invented this is either a genius or a complete and utter moron....
Ok how to play: You hammer your nail partyl in with the regular end of the hammer, just enough so it stands on its own. then you take turns going around the stump and everyone gets one hit with the back end (hatchet end) of the hammer to try and hit their nail...the game continues in a circle until the last person to get theirs in loses- that person then has to buy everyone involved in the game a shot or a beer...and let me tell you IT IS HARDDDD....doesnt matter how sober/drunk/cross eyed/ double visioned have to close one eye to see your hand in front of your face drunk you are.... it is very difficult, until you find your sweet spot-once I found mine I think I only missed 2 times the entire game, people we were playing with were chanting "PENNSYLVANIA" it was pretty funnyyyy...
So back to tehe bar fight story... as we are playing I am standing closest to the bar and occassionally am being bumped into, understandably ( but never with a deadly weapon in my hand) but one time I feel a hand on my ass, then my lower back, so I turn around, and there is this shit faced guy standing there by himself waiting for a beer, so I say "Excuse me" and he smiles through his French speaking mouth and I don't smile back, but just turn around to ignore this obviously drunk guy in his late 20's. We continue playing the game, and hanging out in this bar, but I keep seeing this guy out of the corner of my eye, do the exact same thing to about 80% of the girls in the bar...So I said something to a guy friend I was with along the lines of , "that guy is an ass, he grabbed my ass and is now grabbing every girls ass in here..." He said " i know, I am seeing that, and trust me I was about to kick his ass when he was over here before, if he keeps bothering you (or (any other girls we were with) let me know..."
So low and behold about 30 minutes goes by, the stump game has been paused due to too many shots of Jameson (good call by the way) and the guys"bumps" into me again, and tries to introduce himself, I show no interest and walk away- he follows...introduces himself and kisses , wait drools/slobbers on my arm, an attempts for some more ass grabbage etc. I push him away and he leaves...then I see him doing almost the exact same thing to my friend Kelly ...so I felt (in my Jameson induced moment) it was my duty to get her away from him, so I pushed him and said "you need to leave now, and leave her alone" he ( I cant believe I am writing this...) pushes me back on ym shoulder, pretty much everyone in the front of the bar sees this and are about to intervene when I (thank you Paul's boxing classes at ACAC) throw a mean right hook and nail him in the jaw, he stumbles back a little- my hand hurts, so I know it must have been at least a decent shot- especially for a girl, and people immediately have him pushed out the door, and are buying me shots and beers....crazy! Dad you should be proud, honestly, I got a few compliments on my skills that night.
So after enjoying a round or two of "victory shots" and "apology shot" from his friends, the ass hole actually tries to come back into the bar, but this time the bartender spots him and immediately removes him and sends him home... we left a little while later, after another invigorating game of Stump, another apology from his friends, and another shot of Jameson .
That guy probably woke up with a sore jaw the next morning.. I wonder if his friends told him it was from a girl? I wonder if he would even be sorry? Or if he thought it was "cool" that he did something to make a girl that upset, especially in front of his friends?
I felt pretty good about that night, well my reaction to it anyway...why do guys think that is OK to do? Not even once is it ok, but to do it repeadetly? Doesn't matter how drunk/stoned/tripped out you are....it is not OK... Girls I think you should have your dads teach you how to throw a decent punch to defend yourself againest vermon like this....fight back, dont think it's "ok" or that it makes you "cute" when a guy unwantedly grabs your ass, or slobbers on you hand.... its sick. Now I am not saying we should start throwing punches in bars when a guy hits on you.... lets not get carried away, but when a guy gets carried away and takes it to far ( i think you all know when that is...well hopefully you do) then yeah, say something, dont act like it is OK, and if you are feeling like it is OK for a guy to do that, and that I was out of line, than man, have a little more respect for yourself!
Ok enough with the feminism stuff... I punched a dude, he deserved it, it felt good, end of story.
So as I am sure some of you have heard and others have not...yes I punched some asshole dude in a bar.
We were at a bar near The Language House which we have named "The Stump bar"...I don't think it really has a name, but it has a very distinguishing feature- a stump, right in the middle of the crowded bar area, People gather around (usually 4-8people ) and you play the game....the game involves getting a nail for each player and one hammer for the game from the bartender...- are you intrigued yet>??? thought so! A note about the hammer- it is a regular hammer on one end and the end that usually has two thingys (very technical term) to pull nails out with has been fused together so it looks like a hatchet- even more deadly as a weapon, espeically when you are drunk...so whoever invented this is either a genius or a complete and utter moron....
Ok how to play: You hammer your nail partyl in with the regular end of the hammer, just enough so it stands on its own. then you take turns going around the stump and everyone gets one hit with the back end (hatchet end) of the hammer to try and hit their nail...the game continues in a circle until the last person to get theirs in loses- that person then has to buy everyone involved in the game a shot or a beer...and let me tell you IT IS HARDDDD....doesnt matter how sober/drunk/cross eyed/ double visioned have to close one eye to see your hand in front of your face drunk you are.... it is very difficult, until you find your sweet spot-once I found mine I think I only missed 2 times the entire game, people we were playing with were chanting "PENNSYLVANIA" it was pretty funnyyyy...
So back to tehe bar fight story... as we are playing I am standing closest to the bar and occassionally am being bumped into, understandably ( but never with a deadly weapon in my hand) but one time I feel a hand on my ass, then my lower back, so I turn around, and there is this shit faced guy standing there by himself waiting for a beer, so I say "Excuse me" and he smiles through his French speaking mouth and I don't smile back, but just turn around to ignore this obviously drunk guy in his late 20's. We continue playing the game, and hanging out in this bar, but I keep seeing this guy out of the corner of my eye, do the exact same thing to about 80% of the girls in the bar...So I said something to a guy friend I was with along the lines of , "that guy is an ass, he grabbed my ass and is now grabbing every girls ass in here..." He said " i know, I am seeing that, and trust me I was about to kick his ass when he was over here before, if he keeps bothering you (or (any other girls we were with) let me know..."
So low and behold about 30 minutes goes by, the stump game has been paused due to too many shots of Jameson (good call by the way) and the guys"bumps" into me again, and tries to introduce himself, I show no interest and walk away- he follows...introduces himself and kisses , wait drools/slobbers on my arm, an attempts for some more ass grabbage etc. I push him away and he leaves...then I see him doing almost the exact same thing to my friend Kelly ...so I felt (in my Jameson induced moment) it was my duty to get her away from him, so I pushed him and said "you need to leave now, and leave her alone" he ( I cant believe I am writing this...) pushes me back on ym shoulder, pretty much everyone in the front of the bar sees this and are about to intervene when I (thank you Paul's boxing classes at ACAC) throw a mean right hook and nail him in the jaw, he stumbles back a little- my hand hurts, so I know it must have been at least a decent shot- especially for a girl, and people immediately have him pushed out the door, and are buying me shots and beers....crazy! Dad you should be proud, honestly, I got a few compliments on my skills that night.
So after enjoying a round or two of "victory shots" and "apology shot" from his friends, the ass hole actually tries to come back into the bar, but this time the bartender spots him and immediately removes him and sends him home... we left a little while later, after another invigorating game of Stump, another apology from his friends, and another shot of Jameson .
That guy probably woke up with a sore jaw the next morning.. I wonder if his friends told him it was from a girl? I wonder if he would even be sorry? Or if he thought it was "cool" that he did something to make a girl that upset, especially in front of his friends?
I felt pretty good about that night, well my reaction to it anyway...why do guys think that is OK to do? Not even once is it ok, but to do it repeadetly? Doesn't matter how drunk/stoned/tripped out you are....it is not OK... Girls I think you should have your dads teach you how to throw a decent punch to defend yourself againest vermon like this....fight back, dont think it's "ok" or that it makes you "cute" when a guy unwantedly grabs your ass, or slobbers on you hand.... its sick. Now I am not saying we should start throwing punches in bars when a guy hits on you.... lets not get carried away, but when a guy gets carried away and takes it to far ( i think you all know when that is...well hopefully you do) then yeah, say something, dont act like it is OK, and if you are feeling like it is OK for a guy to do that, and that I was out of line, than man, have a little more respect for yourself!
Ok enough with the feminism stuff... I punched a dude, he deserved it, it felt good, end of story.
Thursday, November 5, 2009
The One with the 'Day Trip' to Plzen
17/18-10-2009
Plzen is a town about 80 km east of Prague and it is home to the Pilsner Urquell Brewery (which you can tour and try free samples! ) sounds like a great day trip from Prague to mee!!! It also sounded good to my friend Shannon, my flatmate Kelly, her brother who was visiitng from Hawaii, his friend from California and my other flatmate Nicole. So we decided to get up early and try for the 10 am bus, however we weren't really in a rush because according to Frommer's and The Lonely Planet buses leave to Plzen every 15 minutes. We met around 11am, and the next bus to Plzen wasn't until 2 !!! Bummer..So we were debating what to do.. it is about an hour and 20 minute bus ride, and the last tour of the brewery (the main purpose of the trip) leaves at 4...so long story short, we wouldn't make it.. we debated going another day...then said screw it, were here let's go, see if we make the tour and stay overnight if we have to... At this point Nicole bailed because she didn't feel good and we hadn't packed anything to stay over anyway. I don't blame her.. I don't like spending the night with no tooth brush and eye drops...and God forbid no blush but I sucked it up (and later I found some blush in my bag...yayyy :) )
So we boarded the bus and were pretty excited for our trip....however as we approached Plzen- passed the Pilsner Brewery, crossed a river...., it kind of sunk in we had no map, no idea where we were staying and no idea where this bus was going to drop us off...so I was hesitant to get off the bus...but we did and we started walking back toward the city center we passed to find some infromation. The street we were on was full of Herna bars and Erotica Bars or Strip Clubs- picture the vegas strip, now replace flashing lights and naked girl signs with HERNA BAR signs....and EROTICA....so needless to say we hurried through that part of Plzen and stumbled upon an green info board. That had labeled on it an information center... we walked about 10 more minutes toward the info center and stumbled upon a MidEvil fair in teh middle of Namesty Republicky (the town square)... i swear I am not making this up, these weird fair things happen in Prague too...there were men laying on a bed of nails, music, fire breathers, and ridiculous costumes. We enjoyed a cup of hot whiskey wine....and moved onto the info center -and found it fairly easily. My friend Shannon and I walked in trying to find a map (in English mind you..) and the man behind the counter impatiently asked us "if we needed help, because he was closing in ten minutes" We said we were looking for a cheap hostel nearby, and for Brewey tour times tomorrow..whatever we said or did, sparked his fancy and he warmed his smile and became our best friend. I immediately loved him because he was wearing an I <3 NY shirt. hahah, hilarious, and he said he liked American accents better than British accents...He brought out a book of hostels (an amazing perk of being in Europe- every city has hostels) He first directed us to one that was 400 czk/night each so $20, and we asked if they ahd anything cheaper...we looked and found one for 150 czk = $7 a night each...BINGO sold. He drew us a map, called to make our reservation and we were on our way...being mildy hesitant about the cheap price I asked him if it was a decent hostel- his response " i dont know, I usually sleep at home...." so we had a laugh and set out. By now it was around 5 and starting to get dark, and we were starving, but figured we would find our hostel and check in before it got to dark, then go get some food.
We walked mostly on major streets to get to our hostel, took only one wrong turn , quickly recovered and continued until it was time to make a left onto a side street that would lead us to the street our hostel was on...it looked kind of ghetto- pushed over trash cans, paved road turning into gravel, boxes on the side of the road, you get the picture....but we turned and then walked one block before we had to make a right onto our street....gets even more ghetto...as we turn we see a sign in white spray paint that says "HOSTEL" with an arrow under it...I kid you not...So at this point we all slow our pace and contemplate going further....do we turn back around and try to find another place, in a not so ghetto area, with a not so ghetto sign? or do we go in and check it out and hope we dont get stolen off the street and sold as human sex slaves in this ghetto tourist trap?
We did the second one...We continued on...half way down the block was the sign for the "RiverSide Hostel" and he word HOSTEL, was actually the word HOTEL with an "S" written in , in what I can only assume was black sharpie. We take a deep breath and go in.... Kelly's brother first then me with everyone else still hesitantly following... and hand the guy behind the counter our reservation stub - his response " i dont understand this price.." thinking he was trying to rip us off...I respond " we made reservations for that price, what rooms do you have available?" he replies " that price is to sleep outside in a tent" and show sus on the pre-printed price sheet...so we believed him....we say "Ok what is the cheapest room you have inside please for 5 people?" He shows us to a room in the next building - 5 beds, a small bathroom, a broken TV, we take it, we are only sleeping there for one night no problem, so $12 later we are settled have a key and venture to dinner.
I swear the street we were staying on is probably the shadiest in Plzen, I had thougths of being pulled into the trunk of a car or the back of a truck that was shadily parked our front...but The House of Blues was also on our street and a Gay/Lesbian bar....so that made it a little better.
We walked for about an hour and a half before finding somewhere we thought looked good, we passe dup touristy places, and places where we could barely reads the menu...we walk in to seat ourselves (as is customary in Czech) and there are no tables available, we wait about ten minutes and do another lap around the restaurant..and find one in the back. We sit down and are quickly approached by a distraught waitress, she says in her best english that she believes the table is reserved and we can't sit there. She goes to check and comes back 2 minutes later, even more distraught than before to tell us the bad news that yes the table is reserved, however their sister restuarant is just acrosss the square and usually not as crowded as it is a smoking bar and this one is not. She even draws us a map and says "dut dut dut" as she dots the path we are to walk...precious.
So we "dut dut dut" through the square only to find the sister restuarant (both named "The PUB" - a Pilsner Unique Bar) is full as well. We settle for an "authentic czech restaurant" and the food was horrible, we were starving , hadnt eaten in 7 hours and we still thought the food was horrible!! eughh...so we start the trek home and pass a bar on our way that sounds like they have an American cover band..but they want a $5 cover, pass.... we approached another bar, that resembled somebodys brick house/kitchen in the front, and seriously contemplated going home rather than going to this weird bar, but there was no cover and 33 crown vodka tonics= sold!
We went in and found our way to the back of the bar, downed some 33 czk vodka tonics (thast about $1.50) Eventually found our way to the dance floor - where it was a woman's- who had to be an ex strippers , 30 th bday who had a cake with pepperoni toppings? She was stripping guys on the dance floor...and was pretty much putting on a show for everyone, minus the pole. People grabbed the mic and sang Happy Birthday to her....and occassionally an American song from the 80's came on that everyoen would go crazy for ....Then "I love Rock and Roll came on" and I started singing near the DJ, he handed me the mic, and it was all down hill from there.... he handed me the mic during every single english song, and even every czech song- i insisted I didnt know any czech songs, but he didnt care LOL. Eventually we went home and passed out... around 4 AM i was awoken by a loud noise, some laughing arguing then a scream from upstairs. Then one person walked down the steps and out the front door- i re assured myself our door was locked ( we had triple checked before we went to bed) and swore that I would claim I hadnt heard anything if the polica came knocking for witnessses to the shady hostel murder....
We awoke the next day to find no blood, no police , and nobody else had heard that during the night..
On to the Breweryyy!!! On our way we climbed the top of St. Bart's cathereral in the square- it is the highest tower in The Czech Republic- amazing views of Plzen and the surrounding country side. We began climbing around 11:50am, and as the clock struck 12, the bell began ringing- we were about half way up and couldnt turn around- let me say I will NEVER climb a bell tower with a bell ringing in it again- my ears were ringing for about an hour afterwards, but it was definatelely worth the view and the experience :)
We were so excited for the tourof the brewery, we waited for an English tour and it was great!!! We took a Pilsner bus to the New Brew House, then a tour of the underground cellars, where they used to store the beer in barrels, they warned us to not get lost as there were 90 underground chambers- and they probably wouldnt find us...crazy. It was amazing, they showed us the grains and the hops they use- and we got to taste them in pure form, then the brewing process and the storing/bottling/shipping process.
As we passed by the huge barrels the tour guide (who spoke broken English, it was adorbale, he got mad at himself for forgetting the word "brewhouse") said that a full sized man would have to climb inside the barrels to wash them through a 16x12 inch hole in the bottom...to which I instinctively blurted out " no wayyyy!" that is like the size of a regular cutting board, or a lap top, or a large notebook....impossible! He said I would have the chance to try it out later in the tour, and then kept referencing my comment with " you will see when you climb through the barrell opening" It was pretty funny to our group- maybe not to the other people in our English speaking group (about 8 touristy adults in their 40's) but definately to us.
And so came the point where I was to prove him wrong......we approached the barrell (it had the bottom of the barrel part sliced off so you could climb through just the opening and come out the other side) , and I looked at the opening...and still thought no way my child bearing hips are making in through there!!!He said do it Superman style, so I stuck both arms out like I was flying and he pushed my one arm down and said like that- I was hesitant as I crouched in front of the opening no larger than a tabloid magazine and low and behold I was through it in .2 seconds!!! AMAZINGGGG, I guess now I now know how to escape from submarine windows, if the need ever be. It was hilarious, I took off my coat and all to prepare for the struggle with the barrel and it was a piece of cake...My friend Shannon has pictures that I will have to get from her.
So after the tour we sampled original barrel brewed unfiltered beer (not available anywhere but in the Brewery and in the Brewery Museum restaurant) and then ate in the museum restaurant to have some more authentic unfiltered barrel stored Pilsner- deliciousss :)
We caught our bus back to Prague after 24 hours in Plzen..and let me tell you the shower I took when I got home definately rated top ten showers of my life! Cheersss!
Me at the top of St. Barts- absolutely worth the climb
Standing at our "HOSTEL" sign the next day...even in the daytime, it's creepy
Fire Breather at the Mid-Evil fair
Ringing Bell in St. Bart's
View of St. Barts and a gorgeous sky from the square in PlzenThe one with the back blogging....
Hey guys... I know it has been almost a month...sorry! But I am back blogging my stories and posts and I wanted to publish them in order...so as soon as I finish (hopefully this weekend) I will publish them in order! Also be on the look out for some new pics. I will post the link here, but you can also find them on facebook! Love and Miss you all!
Lainey <3
Lainey <3
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Some pics...
These are some of the people from my TEFL class @ the Beer Garden, celebrating graduation!!!!
The September TEFL 2009 class @ our "Graduation Party/Dinner"- 100% graduation rate ! yayyy!
Another really expensive piece of paper- but it was worth it :)
How can you be upset about anything when you live here....
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